NBA Commissioner David Stern will retire in February 2014, 30 years after he took charge of the league. He will be replaced by Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver.
The announcement came at an NBA Board of Governors meeting Thursday.
Stern, who turned 70 last month, became commissioner on Feb. 1, 1984. He has been the league's longest-serving commissioner, guiding the league through growth around the world.

Why would they do that ?????
Stern (overall) has been a very positive influence on this league...but like all other commissioners, he certainly hasn't been perfect...my favourite thing he introduced was the player dress code....brought a much needed sense of professionalism to the league

That being said, i don't like where this league is headed at the present time (too much like MLB)....hopefully some fresh blood can help steer it in a different direction

One thing i will complain about though is this ( and imho it should apply to all leagues)....no way a commish should hold his job for 30 years....far too long for my liking...i would limit anyone's reign to 10 years tops

for those thinking silver is 'fresh blood' or might be bringing something different - he's worked alongside stern for 20 years and has been deputy commish since 2006. stern hand selected him as the successor. and to top it off, one of his biggest posts before the deputy commish job was the head of the nba entertainment division, so you know how he's feel about maketing stars.

At least he will sound different and look different, which could make the same shit feel different enough due to presentation alone. Which is better than what could have happened had Bettman stayed long enough to takeover as the perfect clone. A different personality over time can lead to some positive new directions, and there just isn't going to be the same attachment to policies where for stern there might have been feelings of a personal stake. If a need for a shift becomes apparent, it will be easier for Silver to accept that. But yeah, I wouldn't expect much more than shifts.

i thank Stern for the Toronto Raptors. but 30 years as commish seems too long and then to hand pick the next guy to throne kinda feels like some weird sports dictatorship.

Stern don't give a shit about the Raptors or Canada lol. He just understands that Toronto is a large market (top 5 in North America),that'll support their sports teams even if they lose year after year. No matter who had the gig T.O. would've eventually got a team,it's always the first city outside of the U.S. when expansion is considered.

If he did,he would've pulled the plug on the Nets heist for Vince Carter like he did with the Lakers and Chris Paul. ( when he and his boys owned the Hornets).

Stern don't give a shit about the Raptors or Canada lol. He just understands that Toronto is a large market (top 5 in North America),that'll support their sports teams even if they lose year after year. No matter who had the gig T.O. would've eventually got a team,it's always the first city outside of the U.S. when expansion is considered.

If he did,he would've pulled the plug on the Nets heist for Vince Carter like he did with the Lakers and Chris Paul. ( when he and his boys owned the Hornets).

But he's responsible for the nba's expansion and is the reason we have a team. And he didn't own the Raptors so couldn't veto the trade. Blame out gm

Stern don't give a shit about the Raptors or Canada lol. He just understands that Toronto is a large market (top 5 in North America),that'll support their sports teams even if they lose year after year. No matter who had the gig T.O. would've eventually got a team,it's always the first city outside of the U.S. when expansion is considered.

If he did,he would've pulled the plug on the Nets heist for Vince Carter like he did with the Lakers and Chris Paul. ( when he and his boys owned the Hornets).

The way that some talk about Vince on here, what we got for him doesn't seem like we were involved in any heist. Yeah, the wise ones realize he was top 5 at one point, but he never got back to that point either. Back in the day here, he was busting triple teams while Mo Pete was snacking on twinkies waiting for an open three. Boom, roasted.